Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

OT, but any pics/deets of your mobile setup in a gen 3?

 

Some where in this thread mine are.

 

I'm upgrading my HF station is anyone is in the market for an FT-991A. I know everyone here has been wanting to work those linear transponder satellites with SSB.

 

I might be interested

 

Several months ago I bought an old Yaesu FTM-350. It’s been in a box in my office while I half assed studied for my Tech. I’m buckling down now on studying and will be working out an install in my truck.

I’m not ready to drill a hole in the roof just yet for an antenna. What antenna should I be looking at for a hood/fender mount?

 

I don’t have as much experience as others on this thread… but have had good results with the Diamond NR770HBNMO on a tailgate mount on my truck for the last few years.

The black anodizing is starting to fade and the paint at the base is chipping a little bit, but that’s after 5-6 good New England winters (think Salt )

 

Is the radio duel band? If so you'll need a duel band antenna. The mount is designed for the application not the antenna so it doesn't matter the antenna will fit the mount.

 

I'm a big fan of Larsen antennas. I use the dual band NMO mount antenna. They make one with an open loading coil and one with a closed coil. The closed coil doesn't whistle in the wind. Get the 5/8 wave, not the dinky 1/4 wave; it should be something like 32-36" but it ain't cheap. If I was to not drill a hole, I'd put down some vinyl tape on the roof and use a mag mount with NMO receiver on the top. Really low impact way to give it a try.

https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/lsn-nmo2-70c (that price hurts!) Shop around but they are definitely going up in price.
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/lsn-nmommrpl this style but doesn't have to be Larsen.

If all of this sounds too pricey, get what you can afford and get on the air.

Best of luck and enjoy the radio!
KJ7LVZ

 

Thanks Joshua. Price doesn’t bother me (too much) but I don’t want to buy several while I sort things out. I know a roof mount is the best location, hadn’t thought about a mag mount base up there. Only problem is I will have to remove the antenna so I can pull into the garage.

 

Was this directed at me Tim? If so, yes it’s a dual band radio.

 

In order for an antenna to work they are all pretty much the same, the difference comes in with build quality. A cheap one is prone to water intrusion poor fittings, rusty parts etc. Dimond, Larson some thing you might recognize. Mounting is up to you it's going to work no matter where you put it. I would discourage the roof mounts it's asking for trouble in many ways damage to the truck is a big one. One of my friends in the two way business at the owners request mounted an antenna in the center of the roof, it lasted 1 day. The owner in his own driveway tangled with a low phone wire it got caught in the spiral of the antenna ripped the antenna out of the roof and snapped the entire head liner out with the feed line that promptly landed on his head. Do not believe the ground plane myth a vehicle is a poor ground plane, the ground beneath the vehicle is the ground plane, mount it where it won't get damaged. They make all kinds of vehicle mounts buy one that suites you. All of my antennas are inside of the truck bed on the rails it keeps them out of trouble not for every one but it works. I have latterly worked the world on HF mobile as you might expect plastic is not conductive so much for the ground plane. DE N3LYT.

 

That is one of the reasons I discourage magnetic roof mounts at some point it is going to damage the roof. Scratching the paint, forgetting to remove it driving into the garage (worst) little things like that. Trust me I probably have made every mistake possible in 30 some thing years of armature radio.

 

And the leaks caused by the coax.

 

Thanks for the comments Tim. That’s exactly the kinds of oops I want to avoid! My truck has a topper on it so bed rail mounts are out for me. I’m thinking the fender is sounding like my best spot.

 

https://www.k0bg.com/

 

This is awesome info!

 

Yes there is some loss no matter where you put it however you will never notice the difference unless it's off the chart. A bigger concern would be antenna tuning once it's mounted and again by design they are pretty close. Stressing over dB loss will keep you awake at night and you better be really good with mathematics, a good clean installation is more important. Yes the center of the roof would be the best only because there are no shadows from the body work so you might miss that contact 15 miles away simplex.

 

And unless you are in an anechoic chamber you would never be able to tell the difference in these mounting locations.....

Alan's info is geared toward HF. Not everything works the same on VHF and UHF.

*W8JI compared 5/8 and 1/4 wave on VHF.

https://www.w8ji.com/VHF mobile vertical.htm

Unless you are W8JI, you couldn't tell the difference

 

Just trying to hand out some reasonable info. I never said that if it isn't center mounted, it's a waste of time. Most any mount location will accomplish the communications people care about and that is really what the photo shows. I install the absolute best I can within reason. Someone else is fine with a stock rubber duck on a

$40 UV-5R 8Watt Ham Radio Handheld Long Range UHF/VHF Radio with 2 Rechargeable Battery, Portable Radio for Adults with Earpiece, GV-771 Antenna, Programming Cable (3rd Gen)

UV-5R. There's plenty of room in between to suit one's needs.

Out here in the desert SW, I really want everything I can get. Lots of canyons and long distances make communication hard. I have a homemade 6 element beam for 2m at the house fed with LMR400. Why? Because that's the only way I can hit the repeater. And if I move the beam 6 feet any direction, I won't get in or out; knife edging and all that.

Just get on the air.

Joshua
KJ7LVZ

 

My HF (Little Tarheel screwdriver antenna) is mounted inside the bed to the bulkhead at the tail gate. Because the windings are part of the antenna it has to be above tail gate (not by much) and the body work of the bed but it damn well works! I basically have worked the world mobile. Europe, Asia, Brazil you name it. 20 has been pretty open during the day on and off lately. Mind you a lot has to do with the other end but I can jump into a pileup and often make a contact with 100 watts mobile. I'm not a contester but I like giving those that are a mobile contact for their log book. 2 and 70 ever so often got a bit of a lift but it's real spotty 50 is better good place to listen SSB 50.00 and up.